A Woman's Work

About the Artwork

Trained as a journalist, the young Sloan explored social issues more vigorously than most of the painters of his time, portraying working-class urbanites engaged in ordinary activities. He observed this particular scene through a rear window of his Manhattan apartment. Perched on a narrow fire escape, a woman hangs fresh laundry to dry on clotheslines strung between tenements. As evidenced by the painting, the labors of American women at the turn of the 1900s were most often confined to the domestic realm.

Inscriptions

Signed lower right: "John Sloan -"

Provenance

Sold c. 1939-1940 to Amelia White, Santa Fe.

Exhibition history

Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965). American Cities: The Artist's View. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 17, 1989-January 7, 1990).

Quick Overview

Artist: John Sloan (American, 1871–1951)
Date: 1912
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 97.2 x 82.2 x 6.4 cm (38 1/4 x 32 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.); Unframed: 80.3 x 65.4 cm (31 5/8 x 25 3/4 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: American Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of Amelia Elizabeth White
Accession no.: 1964.160

More by John Sloan in museum collections

The Rathskeller
John Sloan
1901 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009189

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.